Washington, DC – Today, Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement on the Trump Administration's decision to rescind the civil rights era ban on discrimination in federal hiring and dismantle Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) initiatives at the State Department, USAID and across all federal agencies:

“I am deeply concerned by the Trump Administration’s decision to remove protections for Americans from discrimination in federal hiring. This dismantling of civil rights protections—including to end all DEI-related programs—will further narrow opportunity and inclusion for people seeking to work for the federal government. 

“Successive administrations—on a bipartisan basis and going back more than two decades, including the first Trump Administration—recognized the importance of ensuring a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive State Department and USAID to our national security. Data shows that diversity and inclusion are value adds in decision-making, and organizations that embrace them perform better.

“These programs and policies are meant to ensure that the State Department recruits the best and brightest our nation has to offer and expand opportunity to populations historically excluded from careers in national security. Diversity is not the dirty word MAGA Republicans make it out to be, but one of America’s greatest strengths. By issuing these executive orders, President Trump is weakening our federal agencies and handing a victory to our adversaries. It’s self-sabotage. 

“It’s deeply disappointing that Secretary Rubio has begun his tenure as Secretary of State disavowing the very laws which he—alongside a bipartisan group of lawmakers—voted to support.”

President Trump's executive orders can be found here and here.

###